I Won't Ever Leave Your Side
by Turquoise September
Summary: Corrin sided with Hoshido four months ago but despite all the hospitality he still feels like a stranger in his own family. As if that wasn't bad enough his feelings for his younger sister, Sakura, are a real cause for concern. However unbeknownst to him, there is a secret he doesn't know about; one which will change everything.
1. A Fateful Night

It had been four months ago that Corrin walked back into the Hoshido kingdom and reunited with his brothers and sisters. While unsure at first, he found himself quickly getting used to their ways; Ryoma's serious nature and protectiveness of the whole kingdom, Hinoka's training regime and protectiveness over Corrin, Takumi's need to prove himself stronger than everyone and Sakura's overall worrying over everyone. Still, he couldn't help but think that in these four months that he hadn't really bonded with any of them in a sibling manner. Yes he loved all four of them but he couldn't help but wonder if he was forcing himself to love them as though they were his own flesh and blood, after all it often felt that he was a stranger in his own family.

As night fell onto the kingdom and everyone made their way to bed, Corrin couldn't help but think these thoughts. He felt guilty, incredibly so for feeling like this but he couldn't help it. Telling himself that he'd tell the others about it come tomorrow, the young prince laid down in his bed and quickly drifted off.

Several hours later he found himself roughly jerked awake by the sound of screaming. Jumping out of bed straight away and on high alert, Corrin quickly grabbed his Yato blade and ran out of the door, trying to find the source of the screaming.

 _I can't be the only one hearing this… can I?_ Corrin thought to himself as he walked down the castle hallway, suspicious that no-one else had been woken by the screams and had gone in search of the source for the location of the screams.

As he walked down the hallway he heard the scream again, this time it was close by.

 _Sakura!_

Quickly opening the door to his younger sister's room, Corrin was relieved to see that no-one else was there, Sakura was in her bed sleeping… or so she should've been had she not been screaming at an increasing rate. Concerned, Corrin quickly walked over to her bed and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sakura! Sakura!" He whispered loud enough for her to hear him.

With a slight nudge, Sakura slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her brother. "C-Corrin?" Sakura said in a shocked tone, wondering why her brother was in her room.

"You were screaming in your sleep, I was worried." The white haired man smiled slightly. "Thankfully you were just having a nightma-"

Suddenly Sakura wrapped her arms around Corrin and held onto him tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she buried her head into his chest. "I... I don't want to lose you again Corrin!" The young shrine maiden whimpered, trying to stop herself crying. "Promise me you'll never leave me... us again."

Corrin placed his hand on Sakura's head and began stroking her hair. "I promise you Sakura, I'll never leave you again."

Sakura looked up at him, the tears filling up her eyes. "Y-You promise?"

"I promise." The white haired man smiled. "Was the nightmare to do with me leaving you then?" He said as he cupped her cheek, wiping away the tears with his hand.

Blushing at his touch, Sakura nodded. "Y-Yes... You said that you d-didn't like me and that I annoyed you because I'm so shy." She looked away before continuing. "You told me that you preferred your Nohrian family and that you'd never love me in the same way you love them."

Placing the Yato blade down on the floor, Corrin sat on her bed and leaned forward, putting his hands together and sighing. "Sakura... Do you love me?" He looked at her and blushed slightly, realising her nightgown was askew and one of the straps was hanging down her arm.

Sakura quickly nodded. "O-Of course I do! I'm so glad you're in my life big brother!" Looking at Corrin she noticed where he was looking, causing her face to turn as bright as her hair. She pulled the strap back onto her shoulder and looked away. "S-Sorry!"

"No need to apologise, it happens." Corrin replied, trying to remain calm. Standing up, he picked up his Yato blade and smiled. "I'm going to put this back and get you some milk, I won't be long alright?"

Sakura looked up at him and giggled. "Heehee, milk? Really?" She quickly looked down. "Is that h-how you see me? As some little girl?"

"Of course not, but who doesn't like milk?" Corrin laughed slightly before walking out Sakura's room.

As she waited for Corrin to return with the milk, Sakura reached over into her bedside drawer and pulled out a pink envelope. Looking at it, she nodded, took a deep breath and opened it up, finding a letter inside. As she read the contents of the letter she gasped, putting her hand over her mouth, clearly in a state of complete shock. Getting to the end of the letter she quickly placed it back into the envelope and into the bedside drawer, a massive smile on her face.

Corrin walked back into Sakura's room, a glass of milk in his hand. As he looked at her he smiled slightly. "What's with the big smile?"

Sakura looked over at Corrin and blushed slightly. "Oh, ummm... I just read something that Mother wrote to me, it made me feel a lot better."

"I wish I had gotten to know Mother more." The white haired man said as he handed her the glass of milk. "Most of what I know about her is from what Orochi and Reina have told me." Corrin sat down next to her and looked at her drinking the milk for a moment before looking away and sighing. "Sakura... do you think we make a good family?"

Sakura moved the glass from her mouth and looked at him. "Wh-What? ...Are you not happy being here?"

"No no, that's not it at all!" He replied. "I love you guys, I really do! It's just..." Corrin looked away from her, unable to say the words whilst looking at his sister's face. "I feel like a stranger here. You've all grown up with each other, I don't have that luxury. You all treat me like this amazing person, all these memories Ryoma and Hinoka have of me that I don't remember." He looked down at the floor. "I'm not going to leave you, I made up my mind that King Garon is evil and must be stopped, but..." Looking over at her, he noticed that the tears had started rolling down her cheeks again. Reaching over, he wiped the tears away from her face once again, giving her a small smile. "I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to upset you again."

Sakura shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry." She smiled slightly. "I can see where you're coming from, I don't have any memories of you either, I feel like a stranger to you and your life." Looking away from him, Sakura blushed. "I call you big brother but to be honest we've been treating each other less like a-actual siblings and more like just a man and a woman."

Corrin blushed slightly and nodded. "Y-Yeah, you're right about that. But I promise I'll treat you like my sister from now on!"

"P-Please don't..." The peach haired woman spoke softly.

"What was that?" Corrin asked.

"N-Nothing!" Sakura replied as she turned to look at him. "You know I... I feel really comfortable around you though." She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, not only for the milk and making me feel better for also for being here and treating me the way you do!"

Corrin blushed as he smiled back at her. "Well I'll keep treating you like such, especially if my reward is seeing that beautiful smile of yours."

Quickly drinking the milk as she blushed profusely, Sakura wiped the remaining tears from her eyes before putting the glass down on the bedside drawer. "I'll s-see you in the morning then."

"Yeah, get some rest Sakura." Corrin smiled as he stood up. Looking at her for a moment he leaned in towards her and kissed her on the forehead. Trying to stop himself from blushing madly, he smiled at her. "S-Sleep well."

Blushing, Sakura nodded. "Th-Thank you. Y-You too."

As Corrin turned around and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him he leaned against the wall next to it, closing his eyes and placing his hand on his forehead. _She's your sister Corrin! Stop this at once!_

At the same time Sakura brought her covers up to her face, covering a massive smile that she had. Laying her head down on her pillow she looked over at her bedside drawer.

 _You knew didn't you Mother? You knew how I'd feel about him? Thank you so much! Maybe I have a chance after all!_


	2. Family Matters

**A/N: I just want to thank everyone who followed/favourited/reviewed chapter 1, at the time of writing this it's not been up even 24 hours and the overwhelming reception has been great, so thank you!**

 **With this chapter it's more about bringing in the story of Corrin and his parents, don't worry there are still Corrin x Sakura moments but, to quote my girlfriend "A** **good romance fic fits it into a wider story." as such if fits into the story of Fire Emblem Fates.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!**

As night turned into dawn Corrin's alarm sounded, signalling the start of a brand new day. Pushing down on the top of the clock with his hand, the ringing stopped as Corrin rubbed his eyes with his other hand. He hadn't got much sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes he thought about Sakura in her nightgown, the way the strap fell down her arm revealing more of her soft skin and the feeling in his hand when he stroked her peach coloured hair.

 _She's my sister! Stop this Corrin! Stop yourself this instant!_

Every so often Corrin would think to himself, he knew it was wrong to have feelings for his own sister but he couldn't help it, she was just so beautiful and cute. Others would say she looked and acted very young, but not Corrin. From the moment he laid eyes on her he saw her as a beautiful young woman, the fact that she was his sister just made him hate himself for constantly thinking that.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, the white haired man slapped himself on the cheeks twice before standing up and looking at himself in the mirror. He was going to open up to his siblings that day at the royal family breakfast, he was going to tell them he felt like a stranger, an outsider to his own flesh and blood. On one hand he felt like this would benefit him, expressing oneself to your family is the mark of a good strong bond between family members. On the other hand he felt like this would be a terrible idea, it could break their heart to hear their sibling who was missing for the longest time didn't feel at home with them.

Putting on his armour, Corrin grabbed his Yato blade and walked out his room and towards the mess hall. Upon entering he saw that the tables were bare and that the food was not even out yet. He was used to this though, in the early hours of the morning the Hoshidan royalty had private access to the mess hall, a separate room at the back in case any attack came early. Opening the door to the back room Corrin saw the muscular stature of his big brother Ryoma cooking some breakfast. Sitting near the table was his younger brother Takumi, eating some rice.

"Good morning brothers." Corrin said as a small smile appeared on his face. "How was your sleep?"

"Need you ask that every morning, it's always the same answer; terrible." Takumi responded, looking over at his white haired brother. Quickly he sighed and glared. "Honestly, whose idea was it to put my room next to Ryoma's?" Looking over his shoulder, the ponytailed young man looked at his older brother. "If you do it tonight I _will_ shove something up your nose!"

Ryoma laughed as he turned around. "What a terrible way to start the day, wouldn't you agree Corrin?" The man clad in red looked at Corrin. "No-one else ever complains about my snoring, only Takumi. Do you suppose he is lying?"

Corrin smiled slightly as he looked between the two brothers, their expressions the complete opposite of one another. "I couldn't possibly comment on that."

"Well said my young brother." Ryoma gestured for Corrin to sit down opposite Takumi. "As for your question, my sleep was marvellous. My morning meditation greatly helps my mood." He sat down next to Takumi and looked at him. "Honestly Takumi, I don't see why you don't do that to. It would allow you to start the day fresh and ready, rather than moody. You should join me tomorrow morning."

Takumi looked at Ryoma. "I would but the only time I can get some sleep is when you're meditating." Letting out another sigh, he looked at Corrin and smiled slightly. "Swap rooms with me tonight will you Corrin?"

As Corrin sat down he let out a small laugh. "I'll consider it." Pausing as he looked at his two brothers he let out a sigh. "Ryoma, Takumi… did you not hear Sakura screaming last night?"

"What?!" Ryoma raised his voice, jumping out of his seat as he hit his hands on the table. "What happened?! Is she alright?!"

"Calm down big brother, she is perfectly fine." The white haired man responded in a calm voice, hoping it would have an effect on Ryoma. "She was just having a nightmare, I stayed up with her for a bit and gave her a glass of milk. I didn't hear any more screaming coming from her room so she obviously drifted off to sleep with no problem."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryoma sat himself back down. "Thank you Corrin, it's good to know you and Sakura are close." He gave him a smile. "Sakura has always been very shy but around you she feels very comfortable, it's nice to see her so happy and confident."

Corrin blushed slightly at Ryoma's words, an expression that didn't go unnoticed by Takumi. "What was her nightmare about, did she tell you?" The archer asked as he ate some more rice.

"It was about me leaving, calling her annoying for being too shy and saying I could never love her like I do with my Nohrian siblings." Corrin answered, a guilty look in his eyes. "Brothers… when Hinoka and Sakura get here I would like to address a matter that I've been thinking about for a while, is that alright?"

"Of course you can, we are family and you should feel comfortable telling us anything." Ryoma smiled. "No matter what it is, know that we will listen with open ears and minds."

As Ryoma spoke the door opened, causing Corrin to look around at who it was. Smiling, he waved to his older sister, Hinoka, who walked in with a massive grin on her face. While Hinoka quickly addressed her brothers in the room with a simple greeting before heading to the cooker and making some food, Sakura came in behind her, a small smile on her face. As the peach haired woman looked at her brothers, giving Ryoma and Takumi a little bow, a blush came across her face as she made eye contact with Corrin. While it was probably for only a split second, the pair seemed to keep eye contact for an eternity.

"Simmered beans?" Hinoka spoke up, causing the brother and sister to look away from each other, a blush on both their faces. Looking towards his older sister, he noticed she was looking at him with a smile on her face. "It's rare that I cook it, but I'm more than happy to make it for you and Sakura." She glared at her other brothers. "As clearly Ryoma and Takumi are too much of oafs to wait for me to cook for them."

"I didn't know when you'd wake up!" Takumi groaned. "Plus we've not got long before the meeting, just cook a quick meal."

"I-I'll just have some rice balls big sister." Sakura spoke up, walking over to the table and sitting next to Ryoma, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Corrin. "H-How was your sleep Corrin?"

Corrin looked at his little sister and smiled slightly. "Y-Yeah… it was good. Did you manage to get back to sleep quick enough?"

As Sakura nodded Hinoka looked over at her younger sister. "Get back to sleep? What happened Sakura?"

"O-Oh it was nothing! I just had a nightmare that's all and Corrin came to check on me." The peach haired woman looked over at Corrin and smiled. "Thank you again for that."

"Don't worry about it Sakura, I'm just happy that you're feeling better now and you understand that your nightmare won't ever come true, I promise I won't leave you again." Corrin blushed slightly before looking towards his redheaded sister. "Hinoka once you're done could you sit down? I've asked Ryoma if I can discuss something with all of you and I'd prefer if we were all seated for it."

Hinoka looked at Corrin for a moment before nodding. "Sure, I'll just get some of these ready now."

"No need." Takumi spoke up as he got up off his seat and walked over to their refrigerator, opening it to reveal a box full of rice balls inside. As he pulled them out he placed them on the table. "I knew you'd try to cook something we didn't have time for, Mozu helped me make them last night so be sure to thank her later."

"You mean the country girl we saved a while back?" The redhead asked, causing Takumi to nod as Hinoka sat down next to Corrin, giving him a brief hug. "So what's this thing you wanted to discuss little brother?"

Corrin took a deep breath as he looked at his siblings, all of which were looking at him intently. Ryoma's expression was as cool and calm as ever, giving off an aura of acceptance that Corrin just couldn't help but admire and idolise. Hinoka was eating a rice ball yet her gaze never moved from Corrin. Takumi looked the most interested out of the four, while Takumi was more suspicious of Corrin than the others, Corrin knew that Takumi only ever meant good. Sakura on the other looked nervous, a small blush on her face as she gave Corrin a small smile.

Corrin couldn't help but think of what Sakura had said the night before, about how they'd been treating each other more like man and woman rather than brother and sister. He couldn't say the same about Hinoka though; the redhead was so protective of Corrin it was like she was his mother. Still, he loved her all the same. Ryoma on the other hand was very much like Xander and so Corrin felt a connection to him instantly, it just made Corrin feel guilty that he only thought of Ryoma as a replacement of sorts. Meanwhile Takumi was a different sort of case, they'd call each other Brother from time to time but Corrin didn't really know how to act around him. Takumi gave off an aura of jealousy; that he wanted to be seen as strong and successful and while Corrin respected that he was concerned that the treatment he was getting was affecting Takumi in a negative way.

Sighing, Corrin looked at Ryoma first, knowing that once he told the information the future king's face would be the most calm of the four. "I want to start by saying I love you all. I'm so glad I met you and I'm really glad that you're my siblings, however I do need to say this…" Taking in another deep breath, he quickly glanced over at Sakura before turning his attention back to Ryoma. "Big brother, you have memories of me." He looked at Hinoka. "As do you big sister. But I'm afraid that I don't have memories of any of you."

"That's understandable Corrin." Hinoka spoke up, putting her arm over his shoulders. "You were young when those scumbags took you."

"Please big sister…" The white haired man said. "This is hard enough for me as it is." Hinoka took her arm off Corrin and allowed him to speak again. "I've spent most of my life in Nohr, all of my memories are of me living in Nohr and as such I feel like an outsider here." Pausing to see Ryoma's reaction he was glad that his big brother's expression was still a cool and calm one. "I… I feel like a stranger in my own family, you've all grown up together but I can't say that I have." He looked down at the table, not wanting to know what the others thought about it.

"You… feel like a stranger in your own family?" The redhead woman repeated, an obviously very sad and hurt tone in her voice. Corrin couldn't bring himself to look at her but he felt her arms wrap around him. "Oh Corrin… I'm so sorry! I was just so happy that you're back with us and how happy that makes me that I never stopped to even consider how you'd feel about it! Can you ever forgive me?"

Corrin looked up at her and saw tears in her brown eyes. He hated making anyone cry; especially Hinoka but he expected it. "Of course I'll forgive you big sister." Corrin said with a reassuring smile on his face.

As Corrin hugged Hinoka back Takumi, who had his eyes closed, spoke up. "…I feel like I'm partially to blame for you feeling out of place." He opened his eyes and looked at the white haired man. "I was so sure that you were a spy for Nohr I too never stopped to think about your feelings on the matter." The archer smiled slightly. "You're skilled in battle and hunting, you've proven that to me."

"Thanks Takumi." Corrin responded, a genuine smile appearing on his face. He looked over at Sakura who was looking away from him, her eyes looking down towards the floor as if she didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes again. Not wanting to hurt her even more, he looked at Ryoma. "Big brother?"

Ryoma stood up, looking down at Corrin in an intimating manner, his dark grey eyes locked onto Corrin's red ones. The white haired man expected Ryoma to be calm about the situation; he was very mature and was the future king but Corrin had never seen him look so fierce. Without a word he walked over to the back wall, placed his hands behind his back and sighed. "I suppose I should tell you this, though it pains me to do so." With a pause, Ryoma looked over his shoulder. "There is no easy way for me to say this so I shall get to the point…" Letting out another sigh, the man clad in red looked back to the wall. "We may call you our brother but you are not in fact related to any of us."

"What?!" Takumi raised his voice. "Ryoma are you serious?! You're not one to joke around, this isn't the time to start."

"I am being serious Takumi." Ryoma responded as he turned around, facing his siblings. "Our father, King Sumeragi, was a generous man. After the passing of our mother, Queen Ikona, he was heartbroken and feared he could not love again. He, alongside some of the servants that served the Hoshido royal family raised me, Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura, the offspring from King Sumeragi and Queen Ikona." Pausing, the future king crossed his arms. "Some time later a woman appeared in Hoshido, her name was Mikoto."

"M-Mother?" Sakura walked around the table and sat by Hinoka who had now let go of Corrin and was looking intently at Ryoma. "Sh-She was not our real mother?"

Ryoma nodded. "That is correct Sakura, the late Queen Mikoto was Father's second wife." He closed his eyes and paused for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. "And the mother of Corrin." He opened his eyes and looked at the white haired man he called his brother. "That is not to say that you are our half-brother though, there is more to this story if you wish for me to continue?"

"Of course I want you to continue big br…" Corrin stopped himself and looked down slightly. "I mean Lord Ryoma…"

Ryoma laughed. "There is no need for the formalities little brother, King Sumeragi raised you as if he we his own. We may not be related by blood but Father loved you just as much as he loved his own children." Pausing to clear his throat, Ryoma then carried on. "Queen Mikoto appeared his Hoshido and with her she carried a small infant… that would be you Corrin. Father fell in love with her instantly and they soon wed, making her the queen that we all know her as." Seeing the look on Corrin's face, Ryoma sighed. "I know what you want to ask, however I don't know the answer to that I'm afraid. Mother never gave any indication about who your real father is, I was young when you were taken and didn't quite understand. I wanted to know more about you and her, of course I did, but I felt it would bring up too much pain that should have been – and was – avoided." Walking over and putting his hand on Corrin's shoulder, the dark grey eyed man smiled slightly. "I told all of this so we can all properly understand one another, to know where we all come from and where we stand." Looking at his true siblings, Ryoma sighed. "I am sorry, all this information was probably a shock for you all and I can only apologise for that."

"That's… that's a lot to take in…" Hinoka spoke up. "I have some vague memory of what you were on about though."

"So Father married twice?" Takumi closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I can't say I'm too happy to hear all this so early in the morning, especially as we'll be going to a meeting soon…" The silver haired man smiled slightly as he opened his eyes and looked at Ryoma. "But either way, I'm glad you told us."

Corrin sat there, in a state of shock. He didn't know how to react, he didn't know what to say, it was just so much information at once he was still trying to process it. He wasn't related to any of them, he was brought into the Hoshido royal family as he was told they were his blood siblings, it's what made him connect to them instantly, to hear that it was all a lie made him a feel a mixed variety of emotions all at once; anger, confusion, sadness, betrayed, lost and, for a brief moment, even happy.

Corrin was taken out of his thoughts as he heard Sakura speak up, standing up from her seat and bowing. "I-I'm sorry everyone, I…" She took a deep breath. "I already k-knew all of that! Please forgive me!"

"You knew?" Hinoka asked as she turned around to look at her younger sister. "How did you know all this? Did Ryoma tell you before?"

The peach haired woman shook her head. "N-No, it… was Mother…" She looked up and turned her attention to Ryoma. "A few days before she died Mother gave me a letter and told me to read it when I…" A blush appeared on her face. "Ummm… th-that part isn't important. But in the letter she wrote what you said, I-I'm so sorry big brother."

Corrin looked at Sakura for a moment, unsure of why she would keep such a big secret all to herself. He understood why Ryoma would withhold the information; it was his job to protect everyone, not just his siblings but the entire kingdom. If word got out that Corrin was adopted it might be a catastrophe, potentially leading to riots.

"Relax Sakura, it is perfectly alright." Ryoma replied, a small smile on his face. "Mother obviously gave you that information for a specific reason, I will not push you on what that reason is, just promise that you will use it in the way Mother intended you to."

Sakura smiled back at her older brother and nodded. "Y-You can be sure I will!" She looked over at Corrin and blushed slightly. "I… I hope you can f-forgive me for not telling you sooner Corrin."

Corrin still wasn't sure how to reach to the whole situation but he smiled and nodded at Sakura anyway. "Don't worry, I forgive you, it couldn't have been easy holding on to that information." He turned to look up at Ryoma. "Thank you for telling me big brother, it must have been difficult for you to get all that out." Standing up, he offered his hand to the future king. "Still, I don't want this to affect us and our interactions."

Ryoma shook Corrin's hand and smiled. "Does this help you with how you have been feeling recently?" The tall man asked. "I will always see you as my younger brother, that will never change, but if you wish to not refer to us as such then I and everyone else here will understand perfectly."

As the white haired man pulled his hand away, he nodded. "It does help, yeah. I mean I'm still trying to process it all right now but it makes me understand my feelings better…" He quickly glanced over at Sakura. "It puts me at ease."

As Ryoma nodded a knock was heard on the door and he quickly opened up with the sound of the other army members eating and talking coming through. A redheaded ninja stood in the doorway, a scar down where his right eye should have been. "Saizo, is this meeting room ready?"

"Yes Lord Ryoma, the other retainers are putting their plates away as we speak." Saizo responded. "Lord Ryoma, I must request something of you though."

"What is it?" Ryoma asked.

"Please do not let that Setsuna woman cook again." The ninja answered.

Ryoma simply laughed. "Setsuna isn't my retainer, it falls upon Hinoka to tell her what to do." Pausing, he looked into the room. "Alright, I shall head to the meeting room first, I shall see you all soon."

As Ryoma and Saizo made their way out of the mess hall Hinoka grabbed another rice ball as Takumi crossed his arms, looking deep in thought while Sakura sat back down in her seat. No-one had time to speak before another person walked into the mess hall back room, this time a monk.

"Oh! What is this I see?" The monk spoke. "Lady Hinoka eating the food of common folk? Isn't this interesting?"

Hinoka looked up, glaring at the man. "Azama, what are you doing here?"

Azama smiled. "I came by to say good morning and that you are needed in the meeting room."

Hinoka stood up. "Well I'll go n-"

"However I told Lord Ryoma that I personally don't think you are needed." Azama interrupted before frowning. "Especially now as I see you are trying to act like a regular person by eating common food, it is most peculiar that you would do such a thing."

The redhead glared at the monk. "Azama you-"

"I suppose it is fitting though." A smirk appeared on Azama's face. "After all it is not like anyone takes you seriously as a royal, it would be more beneficial for you to simply pack up your things and become a farmer or another underappreciated job. Not to mention rice balls are more slimming than what you regularly eat."

"Azama!" Hinoka shouted, throwing the tray of rice balls at the monk who expertly dodged it.

"Would you just look at the time, I believe I should make myself scarce." The smirk didn't leave the monk's face as he walked out the door, popping his head back in before sighing. "I suppose it would only be right if you were to go to the meeting room though, after all it would prove me wrong and while I love being right about everything I simply don't have to time to go around and gloat."

As Azama quickly made his way out the mess hall, Hinoka sighed, causing Takumi to raise an eyebrow. "Why is he still your retainer? You hate him."

"I don't hate him, he's just…" She glared towards the door. "Difficult to deal with… and talk to… and get motivated… and in battle…" Shaking her head, Hinoka looked at Corrin and smiled. "See you in there brother." With a quick hug, Hinoka too made her way out of the mess hall.

As Hinoka walked out a masculine voice was heard. "Yo Lord Takumi! All set to go?" A young man with a spiky ponytail asked as he walked into the room before looking down at the scattered rice balls. "Woah! What happened in here?"

"Azama." Takumi responded before standing up. "Let us go Hinata, you know what Ryoma gets like if we're late. Is Oboro there already?"

Hinata nodded. "Sure is! She said it would prove she's more dedicated to you then I am by her turning up early." He looked over at Corrin and Sakura. "But I'm clearly more dedicated, I came to collect him. I win right?"

Corrin laughed slighty. "I guess that means you do."

"Sweet!" Hinata winked with a hearty smile on his face before he looked at Takumi. "Ready when you are Lord Takumi."

Takumi looked over at Corrin. "Corrin… I would like to talk more about what Ryoma said, perhaps in private once the meeting is done." He smiled slightly. "Just to clear the air and for us to understand each other better."

The white haired man nodded. "Of course, I look forward to it."

As Takumi and Hinata walked out Corrin realised that he was alone with Sakura. Normally when he was alone with her he felt nervous, the fact that he was attracted to her and she was his sister made him feel at unease. But now he knew the truth, they weren't related and while Ryoma and Hinoka at least still deemed him a younger brother and one of the family, Corrin finally felt like his feelings weren't wrong anymore. He was free to love Sakura as much as he wanted, after all to him she was now just a very beautiful woman who he had a hard time keeping his eyes off of.

"Listen, Sakura…" Corrin spoke quietly. "Now that we're alone I'd like to say something… and after what Ryoma said I feel like I can now say it."

Sakura blushed as she looked at Corrin. "Wh-What is it?" She held her hands close to her chest as she wondered what he was going to say. She was confident he didn't feel the same way about how she felt about him but now that he knew they weren't related the shrine maiden felt like she had a chance.

However before Corrin could speak he was interrupted by two people walking through the door; one green haired male ninja and a female samurai.

"Milord, Lady Sakura, it is time for us to get going." The green haired ninja spoke up, a small smile on his face.

Corrin looked up at him. "Thank you Kaze, we shall make our way there now." Turning to look at Sakura, he blushed slightly. "I'd like for us to continue our conversation another time, if that's alright with you?"

The peach haired woman nodded. "Th-That would be alright." Giving Corrin a small smile as he and Kaze walked out, she looked down at the floor, causing the samurai girl to walk over.

"Lady Sakura, what's wrong?" She asked. "What happened between you and Lord Corrin?"

Sakura shook her head. "Nothing happened Hana." She looked up at her best friend and smiled. "Shall we make our way there now?"

Hana looked at Sakura for a moment before nodding. "Sure, let's go."

As the two women walked out of the mess hall, Sakura looked in front of her, staring at Corrin who was a few feet in front of her. Thinking to herself, Sakura wondered about if Corrin was going to confess to her before Hana and Kaze came in.

 _No… No he'd never feel that way about me… What am I thinking? Stop it Sakura…_

And while Sakura was thinking that, Corrin was walking into the building with Kaze, thinking about what he was going to say to her and come clean.

 _I've got to tell her… there's no way she'll reciprocate my feelings but… I've got to tell her. I've got to tell her I love her!_


	3. The Rising Tension

It had been shocking to say the least; only a few hours previously the young dragon had learnt news that shook him to the core. Though ever since he was kidnapped and taken to Hoshido he had believed that he was with his true family, so to discover that it was all a lie was stunning to say the least. After the initial feelings of betrayal and the gut-wrenching pain, the young man began to see the situation in a whole new life. No longer was his love for Sakura taboo, with no blood ties between them he could scream it from the rooftops if he wished, he found himself overjoyed at the thought that he might possibly have a chance with the woman of his dreams, knowing that his love for the shrine maiden wasn't wrong.

The meeting was filled with bad news; an area near the border between Hoshido and Nohr had been brutally attacked by Nohrians. Knowing the importance of quelling the attack quickly, the group decided that their best soldiers should go; and as such Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi and their respective retainers agreed to get ready and move out post-haste. Just as Corrin began to wonder where he fit in, Ryoma had spoken up, assigning Corrin to help out a small village to the west of their location; rumours having surfaced that it had been attacked by a group of fearsome bandits who had allied themselves with Nohr. Almost immediately the youngest princess had spoken up, requesting she joined Corrin on the mission to provide healing support to any who needed it, and as such, she and her retainers joined the cause. The party quickly departed, each going their own separate ways. Soon only Corrin's team remained, looking at their leader as they waited for instructions. Silently, Corrin gestured for the team to leave so that he could speak to Sakura in private.

As the last person left the room, the horse rider pulling the door shut behind him, the young shrine maiden turned to look at Corrin, a light blush on her face. "I-Is this about what you wanted to say at breakfast?"

Corrin blushed slightly as he remembered what it was he was going to tell her. Shaking his head, he crossed his arms as he looked at her, a serious expression on his face. "No, this is something different. I can't accept you coming along on this mission Sakura. I don't want you getting hurt."

The peach haired woman shook her head. "N-No, I'm… I'm going on it with you!"

The white haired man sighed as he turned away, his back towards her. "I don't think that's wise Sakura. If you come with me I'll be very worried about you, I won't be able to think on the battle ahead." He looked over his shoulder. "I want you to stay behind, it will put my mind at rest and allow me to focus on the fight."

"B-But…" Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes before raising her voice. "I want to protect you! I don't want you getting hurt! You're important to me Corrin!"

Corrin quickly looked away from her, not wanting her to see his face turning red. "I… I…" Dropping his arms to his side, he sighed once more. "You're important to me too Sakura, the last thing I want is for you to get hurt." Turning to face her once more, Corrin slowly walked towards the young woman, his blush clear as day as he reached up, cupping her face with his hands. "If anything ever happened to you, if you ever got hurt… it wouldn't just hurt me Sakura, it would kill me inside."

Sakura blushed profusely, both at his touch and his words. Smiling slightly she reached up, placing her hands on top of his. "It would kill me inside if you got hurt too, that's why I want to come with you, so I can protect you."

The white haired man shook his head. "Sakura please, I don't have a lot of time to stand here and argue with you." Pausing, Corrin smirked slightly as he thought of an idea. "Tell you what, if you stay here safe and sound I'll take you on a shopping spree in the town when I come back, then afterwards we'll go for some cakes and eat them under the trees in the field, does that sound good?"

"Y-You mean…" The peach haired woman's face turned completely red as she looked down, unbeknownst to Corrin her lips turning upwards, a small smile forming. "L-Like a… a date?"

Corrin's eyes widened as he realised the connotations his words had held. At the time he had thought nothing of it, unaware of the meaning behind his words. All he had wanted was to convince her to stay where it was safe, though he had to admit his actions were selfish; all he wanted was to be close to her. "Y-Yeah… sure… if… if that's what you'd like it to be?"

Sakura looked up at Corrin, staring deep into the bright red eyes she adored so much. She opened her mouth slightly but no sound came out, instead she simply looked towards the door. "H-Hana and Subaki will still go with you, I-I'm sure they'll understand your reasoning for making me stay." Moving her hands off his, she backed up and bowed. "Please be safe Corrin! I'm looking forward to eating cake with you…" Straightening up, she tilted her head to one side as she gave Corrin the very same smile that made him fall madly in love with her. "Don't keep me waiting too long."

Corrin looked at her for a moment, the smile on his face growing as he realised that when he came back he would have the perfect opportunity to confess to her, to the woman he loved. Responding with a nod, he placed his hand on his chest. "You have my word Sakura, I will be as quick as I can!"

As the shrine maiden wrapped her arms around him, embracing the young man, his heart began to beat faster than it had ever done before. He had received hugs from Sakura before and he had always enjoyed them , guilt welling up inside him as he relished her touch and smell but today it felt different. It felt like a symbol of hope for him; he had offered her something which she assumed was a date and she had not protested, it was too good to be true.

 _Am I reading too much into that? Did she jump to conclusions as we'll be a man and woman alone or…_

Corrin looked down at Sakura whose arms were tightly wrapped around his chest with seemingly no intention of letting him go off.

 _Does she… actually like me in that way?_

The white haired man shook his head slightly. There was no way that was true, she merely misinterpreted his words and he was reading too much into it. She jumped to conclusions and her hugging him so tightly was probably because she didn't want him to get hurt, her nightmare from the night before most likely still on her mind.

Letting out a small sigh, Corrin returned the hug, leaning down as he whispered into her ear. "I will return Sakura, I will always return to your side." Blushing as he realised what he was saying, he knew he couldn't stop now. "You mean so much to me Sakura… I would travel all the way across the world just so I could see that beautiful smile of yours again."

Both of their faces turned bright red, they didn't know it but they both took Corrin's words to mean the exact same thing. As the white haired man turned his head slightly to look at her, so too did Sakura. Their faces were inches apart, their eyes locked with one another's as they stared deeply and lovingly at each other. Never before had they been this close and the pair were loving every second of it, even if they were scared that the other would reject them.

Corrin's eyes quickly looked towards Sakura's lovely lips, he had always imagined kissing her but he never had the chance. Realising this was the best chance he was ever going to get, Corrin slowly leaned in towards Sakura and closed his eyes, praying to the gods that she wouldn't back away.

Sakura quickly looked at Corrin's lips and although she didn't realise that the white haired man was leaning in to kiss her, she thought that things couldn't possibly get any better for her. Not wanting to know how he would react to what she was about to do, Sakura closed her eyes and slowly leaned forward.

The pair leaned in towards each other, they were so close that the tips of their noses were even touching. They could hear each other's breath, smell each other's scent. Corrin quickly put his hand on Sakura's shoulder as he knew this was his moment. Their lips were mere millimetres away from each other, Corrin's nose was at the side of Sakura's, they were about to share a kiss with the one that they loved. Both of their hearts rapidly beat faster and faster, their cheeks flushed as they realised that it was about to happen.

"Sorry I left my-" A voice came from outside the room, opening the door and interrupting the two.

The pair quickly moved away from each other, neither of their blushes fading away as they looked to see who had interrupted their moment.

"S-S-Subaki? Why… Why are you here?" Sakura asked as her hands were clasped together by her chest, trying desperately to pretend that she wasn't so close to Corrin.

"I left my naginata in here, wouldn't do me good going into battle without it now would it?" Subaki replied, a small smile on his face.

Before Corrin or Sakura could say anything more, Hana walked into the room and pointed at Subaki. "See? You're not 100% perfect Subaki! If you were you wouldn't have forgotten something so important!" The young samurai looked over towards her master, noticing both Sakura and Corrin were looking away from each other, their faces scarlet. "Is everything alright Lady Sakura?"

Sakura nodded as she looked at her best friend. "Y-Yeah, everything's alright." She glanced over at Corrin which made her blush even more before turning her attention to her retainers. "C-Corrin wants me to stay here, he made a convincing argument so… I want you two to assist him in the battle."

Hana looked between the two royals before nodding. "Anything you say Lady Sakura, your orders are absolute after all." The young samurai smiled at Corrin. "Let's get going then Lord Corrin."

Corrin looked towards Hana but before he had a chance to nod Subaki put his hand on the woman's shoulder. "Now now Hana, let's leave these two alone, you can't go ordering a member of the royal family around, can you?" Looking over at Corrin, the Pegasus rider smiled. "We'll wait for you by the front gates. Please, take your time."

Gently pushing Hana out of the door with him, Subaki closed the meeting room doors, leaving the two alone once more. Though they had been so close to kissing each other only a few moments ago, neither of them wanted to go in for a kiss now, the mood just wasn't right for it.

 _Damn you Subaki!_

Corrin thought to himself, he liked the Pegasus rider most of the time but in that moment he hated the perfectionist. Looking over at Sakura, he did wonder why their noses seemed to have been in the perfect position for them to kiss. Corrin wasn't looking, he knew that much, so how was it that the kiss almost happened? On top of all that, he swore he didn't lean towards her fast enough for them to be millimetres apart as quickly as they did.

 _Could she have… No way!_

The white haired man reached his arm out, wanting to touch her shoulder but the shrine maiden moved, looking towards the door as she sighed. "I… I think you should g-get going now." She quickly glanced at him. "You don't want to keep the others w-waiting…"

Corrin quickly dropped his arms and looked at the young woman for a moment. Had she been looking at him she would have seen his eyes told the entire story; he wanted to stay with her so bad, he wanted to talk to her about what they were just about to do, about his burning love for her but he knew he couldn't. In war love comes second, the kingdom comes first. He had learnt that from Xander back when he was still living in Nohr, at the time he hadn't given love any sort of chance, above everything else Corrin just wanted to see the outside world, but in the past four months Corrin had gone from wanting to see the world, to wanting to protect people by stopping King Garon, to wanting Sakura more than anything else in the world.

"You're right…" Corrin looked down at the floor, realising that no matter what, he had a job to do and it came above all else. Trying to pick himself up, he straightened his back and smiled. "Don't forget, we're going for those cakes when I get back."

The peach haired woman looked towards him, the blush on her face still not disappeared. For a moment Corrin thought she was going to reject him and his offer but much to his surprise she smiled at him. "I wouldn't ever forget that Corrin, not even in a million years!"

Corrin would have blushed had it not still been streamed across his face since Subkai walked in, instead he nodded at her. Picking up his Yato blade from the side of the room, Corrin waved slightly at Sakura before he walked towards the door.

"G-Good luck!" Sakura said, causing Corrin to turn around and smile. Every time Corrin gave her that particular smile she felt at ease, like he knew what he was doing and that he would return safe and sound. As Corrin walked out the room and down the hallway the shrine maiden couldn't contain her thoughts any longer. "I… I love you…" She said quietly, bringing her hand up to her lips as she thought about the kiss they almost shared.

 _Alright Sakura… when we go to eat under the tree… I'll say it to his face!_

-Three Hours Later-

Screams filled the air as villagers ran in fear, trying their best to get away from the bandits that were wreaking havoc on their simple village. Disappearing in the blink of an eye, Kaze quickly went ahead to check the village out, discovering that the last of the villagers had just managed to lock themselves away from the bandits, safe for now from the oncoming attack, though their makeshift barricades would not last long. Relieved that everyone was safe, the green haired ninja returned to the group, reporting his findings.

It was decided that Silas would charge in on his horse, Silas was perhaps the strongest person there and his dedication to Corrin was second to none, it powered the silver haired man to think of protecting his best friend and it made him scary on the battlefield. Subaki was going to fly above on his Pegasus, Est, and pick up some of the villagers as well as assisting by attacking from a distance. After Silas made his rush, Kaze and Hana were going to attack next, attacking in short bursts. Finally Corrin was going to come in and act more as clean up, taking down anyone that the others may miss.

While everyone agreed on their roles in the operation, Corrin looked off into the distance, his mind in the clouds. Understandably so, he kept thinking back to Sakura, he couldn't think of anybody else and the near kiss kept repeating in his head over and over.

"Milord, are you alright?" Kaze asked, putting his hand on Corrin's shoulder. "Your mind doesn't seem to be here."

The white haired man looked at his ninja retainer and smiled slightly. "I'm fine Kaze, don't worry about me. I'm just… thinking about something."

"If it is a problem you are thinking of I am happy to assist you." The green haired ninja smiled at his lord. "I am at your service after all."

"No, I'm not fretting over a problem, don't worry about it Kaze, you just focus on the battle ahead." Corrin replied.

Kaze took his hand off Corrin's shoulder and nodded. "As you wish Milord." Turning to look at his fellow retainer, the ninja smiled slightly. "Good luck Silas, we shall be right behind you."

"You better be." Silas replied, unsheathing a silver sword as his horse faced the village. "Come Caid, let's go!" Speaking to the horse it rushed off towards the village.

"I suppose we best be off too." Subaki patted his Pegasus' head and looked over his shoulder at Hana. "You better watch me soar Hana, I'll show you the meaning of perfection." Giving Hana no time to respond the Pegasus flew up into the air.

As Silas made his way to the village a few bandits turned to face him, wondering what the noise was. Spotting one running out of a nearby house, the young cavalier directed his attentions towards him, his silver sword ran through the man's chest. The man instantly fell over, and without missing a beat Silas grabbed a javelin that was attached to Caid, picking up the spear and threw it towards a group of bandits in the distance. While most saw it and moved out of the way one of them wasn't so lucky, the javelin impaling the bandit's leg.

Running over to the bandit, Silas looked down at the man. "It's nothing personal but I need this back." Grabbing the javelin the silver haired man pulled it out the bandit's leg with one deft pull. Twirling it around with his fingers, Silas looked up at saw Subaki. Smirking to himself, Silas readied his arm and threw the spear up towards the Pegasus rider. "Subaki! Catch!"

Hearing Silas' voice, Subaki leaned over and reached out with one arm, ready to catch the javelin hurdling towards him while his other hand tightly grabbed the mane. "Easy girl, almost got it." As the spear reached his hand he tightened his grip and pulled himself up, a smile on his face. "Now _that_ is what I call a perfect pass!"

"Awesome!" Silas shouted as he looked up at Subaki, pleased that it actually worked. Grabbing his silver sword once more, the cavalier headed towards a group of bandits who were charging at him. A fierce look on his face, Silas raised his sword in the air. "You don't stand a chance!"

As Silas proceeded to take care of the group of bandits Subaki was over on the other side of the village, attacking some bandits with his naginata and javelin, defending the villagers he had let free. As the last villager left the house and made it into the forest surrounding them, the Pegasus rider twirled the javelin in his hands before throwing it as far as he could, into the side of another house. Quickly grabbing his naginata, Subaki made Est run forward, hitting some bandits with her broad wings while Subaki hit some of them with the naginata.

On a different side of the village, Hana had run in, her eyes targeted towards one bandit in particular. Unsheathing her katana as she ran, the brunette samurai jumped into the air and swung the katana down at the unexpecting bandit's back, causing blood to pour out and the man to fall down, passing out instantly.

Taking advantage of the samurai's distraction, another bandit quickly ran towards her, an axe in hand. As the bandit swung his axe down it came to a grinding halt, stopped just in the nick of time by Kaze, suddenly appearing next to Hana, the axe trapped between the blades of his outfit.

"Careful of your surroundings at all times Hana." The ninja said as he pushed the axe wielding bandit back before pulling out a shuriken out of seemingly nowhere. Without a moment's hesitation the green haired ninja threw the shuriken behind him, taking out a bandit who was running up behind them, causing the young samurai – as well as the axe wielding bandit – to look shocked.

"I don't need you lecturing me Kaze, I get that enough from Subaki!" Grabbing her katana, the samurai ran towards the bandit, using her nimbleness to dodge all his axe swings while she poked him with the sword a few times, wearing the bandit down before he collapsed on the floor due to blood loss. Quickly turning around and looking at the ninja, Hana smiled. "See, not a problem."

While everyone was fighting Corrin rushed into the village, noticing that his teammates were doing a solid job at protecting the village. Corrin always felt proud when he saw that he wasn't needed, it just proved to him that everyone was strong enough to take care of themselves. Despite the overwhelming feeling of pride he felt, the white haired man's mind couldn't help but drift back to Sakura. The way her soft lips looked up close, the way her peach coloured hair framed her beautiful face, the way she smelt so sweet every morning, he loved everything about her and it was making his chest hurt. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about her during the heat of battle, even if his teammates were handling it without him, but he couldn't help it, he was being controlled by his immense feelings.

Unbeknownst to the white haired man, a lance wielding bandit rushed towards him, the look on his eyes showing he was intent on killing the distracted man. As he came to his senses he saw the bandit, the spear just inches away from him. Thinking it was too late, Corrin quickly grabbed his Yato blade in hopes that he could somehow defend himself, though he knew he couldn't. He had been distracted by the woman he loved, he couldn't control his own feelings and it was going to lead to his own demise, taken out by a simple bandit.

"Not today!" Subaki shouted as his Pegasus landing directly on top of the bandit. As Corrin looked up at the redhead ponytailed man he breathed a sigh of relief. "What's wrong Lord Corrin? I've never seen you so distracted." Looking down at the white haired man's guilty expression, the Pegasus rider smiled slightly. "You're thinking about Lady Sakura aren't you?"

The white haired man blushed slightly as he looked away. "How… How did you know?"

"I saw you two kissing in the meeting room, got to say I was surprised to see siblings so close to one another but each to their own." The redhead smiled. "It's not my place to judge anything my superiors do, I'm merely here to lend support for Lady Sakura with any choices she makes in her life."

As Corrin looked towards Subaki he spotted a bandit in the distance with a bow and arrow, the bow directed straight towards the Pegasus rider. As the archer let go of the bow, firing the arrow directly towards them, Corrin ran towards Subaki and jumped up onto the Pegasus, pushing the redheaded man out of the way.

Subaki fell down on the floor, straight onto his back. As he shook his head and looked up towards his Pegasus his eyes widened; Lord Corrin was hunched over Est, the saddle covered in blood as it poured out of the white haired man. Picking himself up, Subaki looked at Corrin and saw that an arrow had gone straight through his chest and by his heart.

"L-Lord Corrin!" Subaki shouted, tapping the lord on his cheeks to see if he would respond. "Lord Corrin wake up!"

While Corrin could hear Subaki's words he couldn't respond, he felt himself fading in and out of consciousness at a worryingly alarming rate. Despite his armour he could still feel the immense pain in his chest, the arrow had gone so close to his heart he was lucky to still be able to hear his surroundings. As his body gave way, causing him to slump into Subaki's arms, Corrin only had one thing on his mind.

 _Am I… going to die? Is this it?_

Slipping back to reality one last time, Corrin heard the fighting stop as Silas let out a war cry followed quickly by the sound of a man losing his life. While he couldn't smile, inside Corrin knew that Silas had taken care of the archer and no doubt he was going to rescue the villagers and ensure their safety, it was simply the kind of person he was. As he began to lose consciousness one last time everything turned to black and he felt incredibly numb, the pain of being shot was fading, as too was his life. Right before he faded into unconsciousness he wondered if this is what his mother, Queen Mikoto, felt like as she was dying. As he felt himself get cold Corrin thought to himself one time.

 _I don't want to die… Sakura… help me… I'm scared…_


	4. Corrin's Resolve (Part 1)

**Before the story begins I will say that this is a very short chapter, and I apologise for that. It has been 9 months since the last chapter was posted, and indeed when I wrote this part of chapter 4, which was intended to be longer than the previous three, however I lost all steam on writing this fic and while I tried to push myself to write more, the push never happened. I became angry at Fates shortly after writing this chapter, while it is in no ways a bad game, I felt like it was far away from the Fire Emblem games that made me love the series in the first place, and re-playing Revelation made me realise how much I dislike some of the characters. That being said, that's one reason why people write fanfics in the first place, and once I re-realised that I started writing some ideas for other fics.**

 **Looking through my computer recently I re-discovered this chapter, as well as detailed plans for all the chapters following; somehow I forgot I had everything about this fic planned. Because of the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 3 I decided that I would at least get rid of the 9 month suspense, as well as addressing the amount of new reviews, follows, and favourites that I have received despite the hiatus. It is because of all of you that I feel like my writing is worth something and not wasted.**

 **So I leave it to you, the audience, to decide on the future of this series. Is this series worth continuing after the massive gap, would you even enjoy finding out what happens to Corrin and Sakura, or would you rather see me write fics for other series - for example, Zelda or Smash Bros. - and move on from this story?**

 **Let me know in any way you like; review or private message. But until then, enjoy what is essentially the first part of chapter 4!**

It had been a very hectic day; not only did Corrin find out he wasn't related to his Hoshido siblings but in the midst of a battle he protected Subaki and ended up being shot extremely close to his heart, bleeding out and falling unconscious. Hana and Kaze escorted the villagers to safety while Silas ran on ahead back to Hoshido, requesting immediate aid as Corrin was being taken by Subaki back to the castle.

Sakura was the first person to find out and while she began setting up the infirmary for Corrin, tears poured uncontrollably out her eyes at the news that the man she had grown to love may have died in order to protect one of her retainers. Felicia came in to assist the peach haired shrine maiden – though it was more a hindrance – as too did Jakob, his normally cold and condescending personality gone as he thought about how Corrin had saved his life. As the others set up the infirmary and awaited Subaki's arrival, Silas quickly made his way back off, heading in the direction where the other royals had gone in order to assist them and inform them of Corrin's situation.

As Silas ran out of the castle and hopped onto Caid, Subaki's Pegasus landed down and the redheaded man jumped off, Corrin in his arms. Silas gave a quick nod to the Sky Knight before riding off. With Corrin in his arms, Subaki ran as fast as he could to the infirmary.

As Subaki ran inside he placed Corrin immediately onto the closest free bed, not paying attention to the shocked and terrified faces of the three people already there.

"Oh my gosh… Corrin…" Sakura spoke up, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. "When… when did he pass out?"

Subaki looked towards the royal princess, a saddened expression on his face as he saw how badly Sakura was taking the sight. "I'm not sure Lady Sakura, he took the arrow and then wouldn't respond to anything I was doing."

"Are you a completely incompetent imbecile?!" Jakob raised his voice as he glared at the Sky Knight. "You're meant to be protecting Lord Corrin, not letting him protect you! Can you not do the most simple of tasks?!"

"I didn't spot the archer." Subaki looked down at the floor. "It's my fault, I should have been aware of my surroundings."

The white haired butler nodded, his angry expression never changing. "Damn right it's your fault!" He sighed and looked at Corrin. "We will save Lord Corrin, we actually have some ability unlike you. I would reconsider your life's ambition if this is what happens on your watch!"

"Jakob that's enough!" Felicia spoke up as she walked up to Corrin and placed her hand on his forehead. "Let's… let's do our best to save Lord Corrin!"

"R-Right!" Sakura nodded, moving her hands from her face. "We should be using our energy to save Corrin, not to argue." She looked over at the butler. "Jakob, th-thank you for your concern, b-but I'll deal with my retainers."

The condescending butler looked at the shrine maiden and bowed. "As you wish Lady Sakura."

"And Subaki." Sakura looked at her retainer. "Thank you for bringing Corrin here, we'll do our best to help Corrin from here on out." She smiled slightly. "You go and rest."

Subaki bowed to Sakura before taking one last look at Corrin. "Hang in there Lord Corrin." The Sky Knight put his hand on Sakura's shoulder and gave her a quick smile before he walked out of the infirmary. Though he was told to rest he knew very well that he wouldn't be able to, he'd be thinking about Corrin until he woke up… _if_ he woke up.

"Right, let's get to work!" Sakura spoke up as Subaki shut the door. "Jakob, you pull the arrow out on my command. Felicia, I want you to use your ice magic to try and numb the wound, it's possible he might wake up from the sudden pain and we don't want that to happen right now. I'll use my healing to try and stop the bleeding and fix the wound." She looked at the two servants who had been with Corrin since he was at Nohr. She realised she was being more in control, something which she almost never did but right now the man she loved was bleeding to death in front of her very eyes. Both Felicia and Jakob nodded as they got into position.

Jakob grabbed the arrow firmly, looking at Corrin's face as he did so. "Sorry Milord, it pains me to do this but we need to save you. Please do try and understand that this hurts me almost as much as it will hurt you."

"I know this is worse than a fever…" Felicia said as she put her hands by his heart, a blue glow appearing around her hands as she started using her Ice Tribe magic. "But I'll do what I did back then! You said I saved your life then, I'm going to do it once more!"

Grabbing one of the healing rods on the side, Sakura walked up to Corrin, a serious look on her face. "We will save you Corrin, I promise you." A small smile appeared on her face. "After all you promised we'd go out after you came back and promises shouldn't be broken." Looking at Felicia and Jakob, the peach haired woman nodded. "Alright, on the count of three I want to pull the arrow out." With a deep breath, Sakura closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, looking at Corrin's face. "One… two… three!"

 **A/N: A small portion of this has been edited and placed into the beginning of chapter 5 so not to have a few paragraphs repeated.**


	5. Corrin's Resolve (Part 2)

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the responses, I received a few reviews and PMs, and it gave me the motivation to continue this story. It is incredible to think that even after 9 months people are still coming back and checking on if this story has been updated, it makes me feel as if my writing isn't useless after all. I also want to thank my girlfriend who got back into her RyomaxCamilla fic - which is amazing by the way, the best Fates fic I've ever read** **And no I wasn't paid to say that** **\- which inspired me to actually make this into a proper story.**

 **As always reviews are appreciated and I would like to thank everyone who reviews my work from the bottom of my heart, every single one of you guys and gals are awesome! Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this fic, and enjoy this chapter!**

 **And don't worry, I promise it won't be 9 months before the next one.**

Light began to pierce through the darkness; at first it was merely a pinprick but as the seconds passed it grew in size until it overwhelmed everything. Groaning slightly, a young man opened one eye, squinting against the light as he tried to make out where he was.

After a moment or two the white haired male opened his eyes fully, slowly pushing himself up as he looked around. The room was darker than he thought; though his vision was slightly blurred he could make out the mahogany door that stood half open; the long table of a similar material several feet away and the burgundy sheets that covered his body.

As his eyes began to regain focus he realised he was not alone in the room, a tall blonde haired man sat in a plush seat to his right, a thorny crown as dark as coal sat atop his perfectly coifed curls as his chocolate eyes stared down at a book he was holding. His eyes looked up as a smile appeared on his face. "Ah Corrin, you're awake." He spoke up, closing the book. "How do you feel?"

Corrin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Xander, the last thing he remembered he was at a nearby Hoshidan village, diving in front of Subaki to protect him, now all of a sudden he was back in Nohr. Bringing his hand up to his head, the white haired man sighed. "Confused, I don't know why I'm here." He looked over at his brother. "What happened to me?"

"You did a brave thing, that's what happened." The prince of Nohr leaned forward and placed his hand on Corrin's arm. "You protected a comrade, you barely survived. The young princess of Hoshido, Felicia and Jakob all saved you from bleeding to death." Xander laughed slightly. "I believe Leo would say you have the devil's own luck right about now, wouldn't he?" Corrin laughed but it was cut short as his chest hurt, causing the Yato wielder to wince in pain. "Try and not push yourself Corrin, you have a long road ahead of you, you will need to be in peak physical condition."

"Long road ahead?" Corrin turned to look at Xander. "What are you on about? And why am I in Nohr if Sakura saved me?"

"Nohr?" Xander repeated before leaning back in his chair. "You're not in Nohr. You're dreaming right now." A small smile appeared on his face. "And if you're dreaming about being back in Nohr I think you realise that you made a grave error in siding with the enemy."

"No, Father is evil, I made my decision and neither real or dream Xander can convince me that I took the wrong path." The white haired man looked away from his brother and towards the door.

"You should go through that." The blonde man spoke. "Elise is waiting for you; you don't want to keep her waiting because you know how she gets when she doesn't get her way."

Corrin looked back towards his brother, raising one of his eyebrows as he did, wondering if Xander was pulling his leg or not. Slowly the white haired man got out of bed, looking down he saw that he was clad in nothing but a pale blue gown that was loosely tied together in the front. As Corrin pulled the door open he glanced back at Xander who responded to his look with a smile before he opened his book once more.

Wondering what this dream meant, Corrin walked out of his room and down the dark corridor, the light of the moon shining through the windows being the only bright part about the Nohrian building. Passing by doors which appeared from nowhere, Corrin glanced inside each room to see if he could spot Elise, or indeed anyone.

After a handful of empty rooms he came across one which had two beds on the opposite side of one another, underneath the small open window was a desk, upon it was a yellow book, and a picture of smiling young blonde woman, her hair tied up in pigtails as she wore a yellow dress, and had what appeared to be a healing staff in her hands. Next to her was a blue haired man, he was a lot taller than her, and while it was unclear what he was wearing underneath, he was draped in a pure white cloak hanging off one shoulder, leaning on an unique looking sword which was stuck in the ground. As Corrin went to reach out and get a better look at the picture which he found himself growing more and more curious about, he heard a couple of voices in the corridor.

Turning around three people walked into the room, all of which looked strangely familiar but Corrin couldn't quite put his finger on it. One of them was a blonde man dressed in revealing mage attire, one was a silver haired man who wore blue armour, and in between them was a redhead pigtailed woman who was clad in the same armour as the silver haired man.

Corrin went to go and speak to the three of them, wondering who they were and why they were there, but as he opened his mouth the woman spoke up.

"Why would you leave your door open?" She said as a frown emerged on her face, looking up at the blonde man. "Especially when you've got that picture on display! You're hopeless sometimes!"

"Cease and desist with the assumptions, I always lock my door!" The blonde haired man said in a loud booming voice, his hand in front of his face. "The moonlight shining through tells me that the thieves of the underworld have come to take away my prized possessions, thinking that it will destroy my soul piece by piece! But they are wrong! Wrong I tell you! For I am-"

"Hush hush now, we came here to chat seriously did we not?" The silver haired man interrupted as he placed his hands behind his back. "Close the door, I'll get the window, then we can find out what it is we're going to do."

The man began walking towards the other side of the room, and while Corrin placed his hand in front of him the silver haired man simply walked through the royal man, much to Corrin's horror. Shaking his head, he sighed as he realised that he was indeed in a dream and that he shouldn't be taking anything seriously. Placing his hands on his hips, Corrin walked out of the room, fading through the now closed door. However as he began walking down the corridor once more he was stopped in his tracks as he heard the blonde man's voice.

"So we think that Lord Corrin is the one then?" As Corrin wondered why his name was being brought up he heard the man groan. "Great! He's in Hoshido! How are we going to get over there without being killed?!"

Corrin heard the redhead sigh before she replied to the man. "Well it's no-one from Nohr that's for sure, it's a shame too, I was hoping to leave flowers at my parents' grave… won't be able to do that if we don't succeed though right?"

"We'll find a way my friends, we've always found a way." The silver haired man spoke, a cheerful tone in his voice. "Anankos was very persistent that we protect his child and kingdom, it's the sole reason why we're here, so let's not worry."

As Corrin tried to walk back through the door he found himself walking face first into it instead, making his nose bleed. Stepping back a few paces, he placed his hand underneath his nose to stop the blood coming out, however it wasn't too long before a light appeared around him and the blood he got on his hand faded.

"Honestly Big Brother, you should know you can't walk through doors." The familiar voice of a certain younger sister echoed throughout the corridor. As Corrin turned to look in the direction he was met with Elise's warm smile. "Are you going to be staying with us here in Nohr forever? You are right?"

Corrin shook his head as he looked away from her, not wanting to see how upset she would be, even if she was only a dream. "I'm sorry Elise, I can't. There are so many things I want to do, so many things I _need_ to do." There was a long silence as the young princess stared at her older brother, a frown on her face as she waited for him to tell her that he was joking. Unable to take the silence, the red-eyed man spoke up once more. "Why don't you come join me Elise? We coul-"

As Corrin spoke he turned to look at his younger sister, only to see that she had disappeared, in her place was a sky blue haired woman on the floor, her clothes torn, cuts and bruises all over her body as blood was dripping out of her at an alarming pace, going into the cracks of the tiles.

"Azura!" Corrin shouted as he ran to her side, kneeling down next to her and bringing her into his arms. Moving her hair to one side he was shocked to see her unblinking and emotionless eyes staring right back at him, blood coming out of them like tears. "Azura speak to me! What happened?!"

The dancer slowly raised her arm, placing her hand on his cheek. The two stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, Corrin's entire body was shaking as he didn't know if Azura was alive or not, even if it was all a dream he couldn't help but feel scared for the young woman.

"…help…" The woman managed to whisper with her breathless voice, her eyes slowly closing as her arm began to drop.

Corrin quickly grabbed her hand and moved in closer. "How can I help Azura? What is it you want me to do?"

Azura's eyes continued to slowly close; it was evident that she was trying her best to keep them open as her eyelids twitched at an incredible speed. "…help… help…" She continued to repeat, unable to say anything else. "…help… m… e…"

With those final words Azura's body slumped over, her eyes now fully closed as her head lifelessly tilted to one side. Corrin could do nothing but look at her; he wanted to call out to her but he felt like he was being choked, he wanted to shake her but he felt as if he was frozen in time, instead he simply stared at her stone faced, unable to convey any emotion whatsoever. The only thing Corrin could do was think, the same question going throughout his mind over and over.

 _What does all of this mean?_

-Sometime Later-

Light began to pierce through the darkness; at first it was merely a pinprick but as the seconds passed it grew in size until it overwhelmed everything. Groaning slightly, a young man opened one eye, squinting against the light as he tried to make out where he was.

After a moment or two the white haired male opened his eyes fully, slowly pushing himself up as he looked around. The room was lighter than he thought; though his vision was slightly blurred he could make out the crimson door that stood half open; the long table of a similar material several feet away and the white sheets that covered his body.

Corrin felt a sense of déjà vu as his eyes began to regain their focus, thinking that if everything was going to be the same that a certain brunette man would be sitting on a seat to his right and as Corrin looked in that direction he saw Ryoma sitting there reading a book.

"How did I know…?" Corrin said to himself as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Hello Big Brother."

Ryoma looked up, closing his book as a smile appeared on his face. "Ah Corrin, you're awake. How d-"

"How do I feel?" Corrin interrupted. "Like I've had this exact conversation not too long ago." He let out a small sigh as he placed his hand on his head. "What happened? How did I get here?"

The tall man leaned forward, placing his hands on his thighs. "What do you remember Corrin? We need to see if there are any problems with your memory."

The young man looked towards his brother, and he began to think. "I remember going to help that village with some of the others, and then I dove to protect Subaki from an archer." Corrin closed his eyes tightly as he tried to see if he could remember anything at all, but all that kept popping into his head was his talk with dream Xander.

Ryoma moved his seat over and leant towards Corrin, placing his hand on his younger brother's arm. "Don't strain yourself my young brother, that was the last thing that did happen to you according to Subaki." A small smile appeared on his face. "Your immediate memory seems to be OK, I'm sure our medics will want to do some more thorough tests though."

Corrin opened his red eyes, seeing the relieved look on Ryoma's face which eased his pain slightly. He reached down to his side, wincing as he touched where the arrow had gone into him. "How long was I out for?"

"That's a tough question; I don't quite know to be honest." Ryoma replied as he held his chin and thought. "Well the war is over so I would say you've been out for about two years now." The man clad in red looked up, noticing Corrin's obviously shocked face as he couldn't believe how long a simple arrow in the side had knocked him out for. Seeing his younger brother's reaction, Ryoma laughed. "I'm sorry, now is not the time for jokes I see! You have been out for one week, that's all."

Corrin sighed in relief as he looked up at the ceiling, Ryoma's jokes were always terrible and his comedic timing was one of the worst around, though that was usually something Corrin loved about his older brother he didn't realise how bad it could get. He quickly looked back down at Ryoma with a worried look on the white haired man's face. "What about Sakura? Is she OK?"

Ryoma looked confused for a moment before he nodded. "Sakura is fine Corrin, she was here every single day watching over you in fact." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he did so. "We were all worried for your safety; everyone will be thrilled to see you awake and well."

"Big Brother…" Corrin spoke quietly and in a serious tone as he looked down, placing his hands together as he knew he needed to tell Ryoma of all people something that had been on his mind for a while. "I… I need to tell you something, something which I wish I didn't feel as it makes me a horrible and sick person, and I'm really sorry for feeling like it."

Ryoma opened his eyes and looked seriously at his younger brother. "You can tell me anything Corrin, we're family after all."

"Well it's to do with that actually…" He glanced at Ryoma several times, wondering how his older brother would react to what he was about to say. "You see I… I've been in love with someone for a while… but I should never have fallen for her in the first place…" As Corrin spoke he could feel Ryoma's intense gaze set on him, and while he wanted to come clean with his feelings he also didn't want to fall out with the Hoshido siblings over it.

"It is never bad to fall in love Corrin; love is the one thing that connects every single human being." A small smile appeared on the future king's face as he looked about his young brother. "Besides, it is perfectly fine for you to be in love with Sakura."

Corrin looked at Ryoma with wide eyes, how did his older brother know exactly who he was in love with? Was it that obvious? Or was Ryoma just _that_ good at reading people? "H-How did you…" He began to speak, unable to comprehend how Ryoma knew.

"Relax young brother; it is my duty as future king of Hoshido to know the worries and concerns of every single person living here." He pushed himself up off his seat before placing his hand on top of Corrin's, giving him another smile. "You should not feel bad, clear your mind of any doubts, your feelings do not lie to you Corrin."

The two brother's looked at one another and Corrin replied to his older sibling, returning the smile as he sighed in relief. "Well that's a load off my mind, I was worried that you'd hate me and do something as revenge."

Ryoma let out a hearty laugh. "I wouldn't ever hate you younger brother, it is impossible for me to!" His face full of laughter quickly turned into a stone face one as he looked at Corrin. "But hurt Sakura and you'll have me to answer to."

Corrin nodded reassuringly, he hadn't have presumed any other way for Sakura's eldest sibling to react. The two laughed with one another, glad not only as Corrin had awoken but also because he had finally been open about his feelings… even if Ryoma said 80% of the confession.

As the brother's laughed they heard a knock on the door. "Enter!" Ryoma called out, and as the door opened Corrin noticed that the person walking in was none other than Ryoma's loyal retainer, Saizo. "Saizo, Corrin has woken up to us."

Saizo glanced over at Corrin; his sole eye taking note of the white haired man's sitting position and posture. "So you finally rise, took you long enough. And don't worry, I made sure Kaze knew it was his fault, his position of retainer will be debated upon."

"It's OK Saizo, it wasn't Kaze's fault, it was my own." Corrin replied, giving the ninja a small smile. "Please let Kaze know that I don't blame him."

"I'm not paid to babysit my brother, what happens with him is none of my business." The redhead replied before he bowed down, lowering his head as he knelt before his lord. "Lord Ryoma, I come bearing news from our scouts. It seems that a person matching Lady Azura's description was spotted three days away being taken away by Nohrians."

"Azura's been kidnapped?!" Corrin spoke up, jerking forward in his bed as he moved to look at Saizo. "How did this happen?! Why was she away from the castle?!"

Ryoma crossed his arms as he looked at Corrin. "Relax Corrin, Azura headed off just over a week ago, she said it was for a personal reason and that she alone had to go. Did she not inform you about this?" Corrin shook his head as he looked down, thinking of the dream he had experienced and how Azura was asking for help. "I see…" He turned his gaze to Saizo. "Saizo, I want you to get all the royal family and their retainers into the meeting hall as quickly as possible, Azura is one of us and we need to go and rescue her."

The red eyed man quickly got out of his bed, kicking the covers off – which landed on Saizo, covering the ninja's body. "I'm going as well! I won't take no for an answer Ryoma!"

"And what do you expect you will do by coming with us?" Saizo responded, throwing the bed covers off him as he stood him, looking directly at Corrin. "Last time I checked you entered battle and got put into a coma for a week, you'd only slow us down." He turned his attention to his lord, bowing his head slightly. "Kagero and I will make our way there ourselves milord, the less people that go the less people are in our way."

Ryoma shook his head as he looked at his most trusted retainer. "Like I said Saizo, gather the family and their retainers, we'll come up with a plan and head there in quick time."

"As you wish milord." Saizo lifted his head up and looked at Corrin. "And next time don't throw your bed sheets on me, I may be a ninja but I'm not going to be in anyone's magic show!" Before Corrin could even understand what Saizo had said, he disappeared into thin air, leaving the brothers alone once more.

Corrin looked towards his brother, determined to make his point on why he should go and help rescue Azura. As he opened his mouth Ryoma spoke up first, looking at his younger brother. "I suggest you get dressed Corrin, I'll get Kaze and Silas to come to the meeting room, meet us there in ten minutes." The brunette smiled as he placed his hand upon Corrin's shoulder. "Don't worry my young brother, I have a plan."

Ryoma walked out of the infirmary, closing the door behind him to give Corrin some privacy. The white haired man looked around the room, spotting his usual black and white armour in the corner of the room, displayed neatly as it hung from the wall, as well as a few normal clothes on the chair underneath. In no time at all Corrin had taken off his gown, catching a glimpse of his wound which had almost completely healed, and put his clothes and armour on.

Sighing to himself as he made the bed, his attention was taken when the infirmary door opened, and standing there was the familiar peach haired beauty that had captured his heart. "S-Sakura? What are you d-"

Sakura rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Corrin, the height distance was more apparent than ever as she buried her head into the man's chest. "Oh Corrin, I'm so glad you're awake! I've been so worried!"

A smile grew on the young man's face as he instinctively began stroking the shrine maiden's hair. "I'm sorry I made you worried Sakura, I promise it won't happen again." Looking down at her, Corrin's smile only grew as Sakura removed her head from his chest and looked straight back at him.

"You promised we'd go on a date too, but then you got yourself hurt." Sakura responded, a look of determination in her eyes. It seemed as though since Corrin lay still Sakura had grown up ever so slightly, no longer stumbling over her words. It threw Corrin off, but he didn't dislike it. "Saizo told me you were awake, he also said about Azura. I wanted to let you know I'm going to help her."

The white haired man nodded. "That's noble of you Sakura, I'm sure Azura will be grateful when she sees you there." He paused before he looked towards the door, her mention of Azura made Corrin realise they didn't have time to talk, they needed to head to the meeting room and save the blue haired woman as fast as humanly possible. "Come, let's not stand idly here, we'll go to the meeting room and find out what's wrong."

Sakura nodded and the two of them made their way to the meeting room, as they walked in they immediately realised that they were the last ones to enter. The peached haired woman bowed and apologised before she walked over to her two retainers, while Corrin headed to the opposite side where Kaze and Silas sat, smiling as they welcomed their lord back. As Corrin looked around the room he was met with everyone else's smiles, but while he knew that neither Saizo nor Azama would make any reaction to him being awake, Corrin was surprised as Subaki did his best to avoid eye contact with him.

As the meeting began Saizo explained what their scouts had informed him of; that someone matching Azura's description was spotted three days away, and that said person had been taken away by the Nohrians. Kagero was quick to point out that not only could it be a trap but that it could very well not even be Azura, adding that she believed the best plan of action was to surround the enemy, much to everyone – but Saizo's – agreement.

"Takumi, Oboro, Hinata." Ryoma spoke up from the head of the table. "I want you three to stay here on alert, it very well could be a ploy to attack the castle, and I have every bit of faith that you would be able to protect our home." Takumi and his retainers nodded back at Ryoma, who then turned his attention to his youngest sibling. "Sakura, Hana, Subaki. I also want you three to remain here alongside Takumi as backup." The retainers nodded to their future king while Sakura frowned back. "Hinoka, Corrin and their retainers will accompany me to find Azura."

"N-No!" Sakura spoke up, standing up from her chair as she looked at her brother. "Corrin has only just woken up, he needs rest!" She looked towards Corrin, who looked back at her knowing that while she was right, he also wanted to go save Azura after his dream. "I… I'll only stay here if Corrin does as well; he needs a healer with him in case his wound opens up again."

"Lady Sakura, we will have a healer with us." Saizo spoke up, his arms crossed as he stood to Ryoma's left. "We have the monk, should any injury befall any of us he will heal the wounds." While Sakura looked at the redheaded ninja with a frown on her face, Saizo also noted that Hinoka was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Saizo looked at Azama who had a devilish smile on his face, causing Saizo to look at Ryoma. "They make a fair point, Lord Ryoma I insist Lady Sakura comes with us, we want wounds being healed not new ones being opened."

Ryoma let out a hearty laugh as he crossed his arms. "Is that so? Well if you insist then I guess I must let it be." The brunette looked at Sakura and nodded. "Very well Sakura, you shall accompany us. We have a few new recruits that can help Takumi defend our home." As Ryoma looked towards Corrin, the white haired man believed that he saw a little smirk on the man clad in red's face, something which he never did. "That means Sakura will stay by your side on the journey, so make sure to take care of her."

Corrin responded to his brother with a nod before he looked over at Sakura, who smiled as she sat back down in her chair. The meeting did not last much longer as everyone quickly left to gather the necessities for the long journey, and before too long the room was empty.

Five minutes later Corrin stood by the castle gates alongside Ryoma, Yato in hand as he looked up at his brother, wondering why Ryoma made no attempt to stop Corrin from going. As more people headed to the gates Sakura ran up and stood next to the red eyed man, looking at him as the two shared a smile with one another.

"Don't worry Corrin; I'll make sure that I'll protect you no matter what." The shrine maiden said as she placed her hand on his arm, a small blush appearing on her face. "So you leave everything to me, you saved Subaki so it's my turn to return the favour."

Corrin looked at her for a moment, a blush forming on his face as he nodded. "And I'll make sure to keep you out of harm's way." He moved his hand and placed it on top of hers, her small hand was refreshingly cold, and it made Corrin feel even more at ease. "And thank you, for watching over me while I was out. It means a lot to me knowing that."

As the two spoke to each other, their eyes interlocked and the love they felt for one another becoming more and more obvious to those around them, Ryoma glanced over at the pair and a smile formed on his face. He quickly looked over at Saizo who stood with his arms crossed. "Thank you for going along with the plan Saizo."

The ninja grunted as his sole eye looked away from his lord. "I do whatever you instruct me to do Lord Ryoma, regardless if I think it is a bad idea or not. I'll keep my eye on them as you said, but I do not think Lord Corrin should be out of bed so soon."

Before too long everyone stood by the gates, weapons in hand as they prepared for the long journey ahead of them. Hinoka and Subaki's Pegasi, as well as Silas' horse Caid had a variety of supplies attached to the side of them, while others carried their own supplies on their person.

"Are we all ready?" Ryoma spoke up in a booming voice, making sure everyone could hear him. As everyone responded with confirmation the future king nodded. "Alright then, everyone… let's go!"


	6. Contest of Pride (Part 1)

**A/N: What did I tell you? It's not been 9 months at all… though I shouldn't be proud of that. This chapter begins the first arc of the story, which I'm very excited for as it gives me an excuse to write some of my favourite characters in action. Don't worry though, there will still be romance involved, after all that is the whole point of this fic series.**

 **This chapter took much longer than expected, mainly due to Breath of the Wild which has stolen my life – if anyone wants to add me on the Switch my friend code is on my profile – and it also took long as I have rewritten this about nine times. I wasn't happy with any of the ideas I had in mind, and I was struggling with how to write something substantial. Hopefully this turned out good enough and isn't too boring.**

 **As I write this, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is two months away and let me tell you, I couldn't be more excited! The more I see of that game the more I fall in love with it, Gaiden is a great Fire Emblem game and I hope all the new Fire Emblem fans will enjoy the remake. It is the first time I've been excited for a Fire Emblem game since Path of Radiance back in 2005, and you can be sure I'll write some fics once the game is out – I'd do it now but no-one really had personalities back in the NES days – so look forward to that.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading!**

The group began their journey to find Azura, following Saizo and Kagero's directions as they informed everyone on whereabouts their scouts had reported last seeing the blue haired woman. The path ahead of them was calm, as they walked through some villages they were occasionally stopped by the residents who handed supplies to them, as well as thanking them for their protection.

Corrin noted the immense reception Ryoma was getting; everyone informing him on what a terrific man he was, and that the day he becomes crowned will be the happiest day for the kingdom. It was a sight that shocked Corrin, no-one had reacted like that whenever he saw Xander walk around the local town, more than likely fearing how he and King Garon would react. The white haired man couldn't help but smile as he saw his older brother smiling back at his people, and it filled him with a sense of pride.

As they walked through one of the villages and past one of the local fruit vendors, the group became painfully obvious that in their hurry to leave nobody had brought any food with them. Everyone went in their own separate directions in order to gather food for the journey, and the lords and their retainers looked around for things to eat.

Corrin went looking around for vegetables with Kaze and Silas, but once Silas saw a stable in the corner of his eye he pardoned himself so he could get Caid some things instead. As the white haired man watched his childhood friend head towards the stables, he couldn't help but feel like he himself was being watched from afar. As he looked around, behind him Kaze was talking to a group of women that had begun to crowd around him, offering him food, drink, and some of them even offered to take extra care of him after his battles. Seeing his retainer coolly and calmly dealing with opposite gender, Corrin laughed to himself, partly as Kaze seemed to have no idea how to interact with women, and partly because he was lying to himself and was actually jealous.

Eventually Kaze explained to the women that he and Corrin needed to head out to get more food for themselves and the females left to the men. As they began walking Corrin looked at his retainer and smiled slightly. "You're very popular with the ladies aren't you?"

Kaze nodded as he looked down at the handful of food and drink he was holding. "I do not understand it though; it has been this way for a very long time." Looking towards Corrin, a smile appeared on his face. "I suppose it is because they find me easy to talk to, I do pride myself on my ability to listen, I lend an ear to all those who need it."

The white haired man shook his head before he started looking for someone selling vegetables. "I don't think it's your ear they were after Kaze." Spotting someone with a variety of veggies in their shop, Corrin pointed towards it and they walked over. "It does make me curious though, you and Saizo are twins right? How come he wears a mask?"

"He has never told me that milord." Kaze replied as he looked down at the delicious looking vegetables in front of him. "It may be because he and I look alike, or that it helps him blend into the scenery when he is doing some assignments." Placing some of the presents he was given into a pouch, the ninja began picking up some of the products. "Would you like me to wear a mask also milord?"

Corrin shook his head as he too picked up some veggies. "Not at all, I want you to be as comfortable as you can possibly be, it doesn't matter how people dress, as long as they feel comfortable in it." The two paid for the food they grabbed, and as they walked off Corrin looked at his retainer. "You know I don't blame you for what happened to me, right?"

Kaze nodded as he smiled back at his lord. "I know Lord Corrin; however I must inform you…" A frown appeared on his face as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "No matter the circumstance, no matter the distance between lord and retainer, if anything bad happens to those that we have sworn to protect, as retainers we take it as a personal failure of our own." While Corrin opened his mouth to speak, he didn't get a chance to as Kaze opened his eyes and gave the red eyed man his usual calm smile. "I understand you object to that thought, but it is how all retainers feel. Silas feels the same way too."

The royal looked at his retainer for a moment, unable to say anything as he thought about how much pressure was on a retainer; to always blame themselves for failure but never to praise themselves for success. It made Corrin think about if all retainers felt that way; he knew that both Saizo and Kagero would think like that but as soon as he thought about Azama the monk's devilish grin appeared in his mind, causing Corrin to frown and tell himself that it wasn't the case after all.

Corrin suddenly came to a halt and he looked down to the ground. "Kaze… I have something important to tell you… something I learnt from Ryoma the other day…" He looked up at his retainer. "I won't beat around the bush; I'm not actually related to Ryoma and the others. I didn't want many people to know but you're my retainer and you deserve to know you're serving under someone who doesn't belong in the royal family."

Kaze's reaction took Corrin completely off guard as the ninja smiled back at him. "I already knew that milord, and it does not change my dedication to you or the royal family."

"What?!" The white haired man said, complete shock in his voice. "How did you find out?!"

"Orochi told me."

"Orochi? But how did she-"

"Queen Mikoto told her." The ninja interrupted, laughing slightly at his lord's reaction. "While it is not common knowledge amongst the army, there are a few people who know about it. The only other retainer who knows is my brother."

"How come Saizo is the only other one who knows?" Corrin asked, though he was more curious about why Ryoma hadn't made it public knowledge at that point.

Kaze sighed slightly. "I promised not to do say this, but it seems as though Saizo and Orochi are lo-"

Interrupting Kaze, Saizo suddenly appeared in front of both of them, his arms crossed as he glared at the pair. "How much longer are you both going to be? If you want to talk do it on your own time."

While Kaze merely brushed aside his brother's remarks, Corrin instead noticed something about the redhead ninja. "Saizo… are you blushing?"

Saizo looked away from their gazes as he realised both of that had small smiles on their faces. "Of course not!" Quickly glancing at the two of them, Saizo sighed and turned his back towards them. "Just hurry back. Oh, and for the record…" He looked over his shoulder and looked directly at Corrin. "I wouldn't speak about that whilst in public, it would only cause panic and confusion about where your loyalty stands."

Without giving Corrin a moment to respond, Saizo disappeared as quickly as he appeared. The white haired man was pondering what Saizo was on about, and he quickly realised that the presence he felt watching him was in fact Saizo who had been listening to their conversation. Kaze patted Corrin on the shoulder and the two headed out of the village, regrouping with the rest of them. With a quick head check performed by Kagero, the group began walking once more upon Ryoma's order.

The next few hours of the journey were filled with chatter; while the conversations were mostly casual and friendly, it did not stop the topic drifting towards Azura and their trek. Corrin noticed that every time he looked in Subaki's direction the redhead would look away, making sure he didn't look at Corrin no matter what, something which made the lord quite upset as he knew exactly what Subaki was thinking. As they continued to walk Kagero began speaking to Ryoma, and after a while the lord nodded and stopped, causing the rest of the group to stop with him.

Kagero turned around to the group and pointed in the direction they were going. "Continuing on this path will lead us to a bridge above a chasm, a few minutes from that is a village said to be filled with Nohr sympathisers. However we must go through it if we are to reach Lady Azura's location." She put her hand down and grabbed a shuriken, holding it towards her face. "Keep your wits about you retainers, they may be Hoshidan but that doesn't mean they won't turn against us."

Everyone nodded as they understood the ninja's words, and while most of them had a hand on their weapons, Subaki raised his hand. "I'll head up and fly around the area, they may know we're coming, but if _we_ know that they're going to attack we can get the jump on them."

Ryoma looked over his shoulder and smiled. "That sounds like a fine idea Subaki. Sakura, do you have any objections to this?"

The shrine maiden shook her head. "No, I think it is a good plan also." She looked up at Subaki and smiled. "J-Just be careful, OK?"

As Subaki nodded Corrin raised his voice. "I'll go up with him, two heads are better than one." The white haired man looked towards his brother and frowned, almost as if he was having a telepathic conversation with Ryoma about why he should go. After a moment the future king nodded and Corrin smiled, walking towards Subaki's Pegasus and hopping on.

Though he looked upset at the prospect of Corrin coming with him, Subaki called for Est to fly into the sky so they could observe the ground. The task was silent, the only sounds being of Est's beautiful white wings flapping in the air, and it was clear that neither of them knew exactly how to start the conversation. Corrin and Subaki had never been awkward around another, the Sky Knight was one of the first people to accept and trust Corrin, and the white haired man had always considered him a true friend, and had Subaki not already been Sakura's, Corrin had no doubt in his mind he would've asked Subaki to be his.

Eventually Corrin couldn't take much more of the silence between them, and he asked Subaki the hard hitting question. "Why are you avoiding me Subaki? Is it because you think I blame you for what happened, because I don't."

Subaki sighed before he looked over his shoulder, the pair looking at each other for what seemed like forever. "You don't understand Lord Corrin; it is my duty to protect Lady Sakura and everyone she cares for. Not to mention that you had to save me because I was so careless, I have no right to still be a retainer."

Corrin thought back to what Kaze had said earlier, that retainers will blame themselves if something bad befalls those they are sworn to protect, and this notion made the red-eyed young man very angry. He didn't like how retainers considered themselves lower than the royals; perhaps they were on a social standing, but they are all humans at the end of the day. It didn't help the thought process as every lord loved their retainers as if they were actually blood related.

"Subaki, you're a great retainer and you're a great friend." Corrin spoke up with a smile on his face. "It wasn't your fault, and I will tell you that every day until it finally sinks in. Lords protect their retainers in the same way as retainers protect their lords, that's why the system works… and why your way of thinking is wrong."

"Lord Corrin, I-" The Sky Knight tried to speak, but he was interrupted as an arrow grazed his cheek, causing it to bleed, and the two men looked to where it was fired from. It was proving to be more difficult than normal as Est was going crazy. "Calm down Est girl, its fine." Subaki said as he rubbed the Pegasus' head.

The two of them tried to see if they could see anyone, not only if any had spotted them but also if any were on their way to the bridge below them. Corrin could see that the Hoshidan group had begun running, clearly noticing the arrow that sent Est crazy. As Subaki scanned the area he grabbed his naginata before he noticed Hinoka's Pegasus had started ascending into the sky to back them up, though it soon proved to be too late.

In the corner of his eye Subaki noticed a small light that flew towards them as sunlight hit metal, and as a look of realisation hit his face the Sky Knight looked towards Hinoka. "Lady Hinoka! Don't come any clo-"

In that instant an arrow had not only gone through one of Est's wings but it was jammed into Subaki's right arm, causing him to lose control of the Pegasus that had begun to rapidly descent as it couldn't keep itself up. Est gained speed quickly, and while Corrin hung on for dear life Subaki was trying his best to calm his Pegasus down and get control of her again.

But that never happened, and instead Est crashed into the ground below, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the land as both Subaki and Corrin were sent flying forward, their bodies heading directly into the chasm. Voices called out as the Hoshidan group shouted Subaki and Corrin's names, with Sakura running as fast as her legs could carry her as her heart sank, seeing both her retainer, and the man she loved falling down into the great chasm.

As Sakura got to the edge of the chasm she gave a sigh of relief; while the pair were far down Subaki had jammed his naginata into the rocks with his injured arm, and in his good arm he held Corrin, and though both of the men had many bloody cuts, they appeared to be fine. Subaki appeared very strained as he held the weight of them both, and to make matters worse the arrow had gone further inside his arm.

The moment of relief was cut abruptly short as a group of warriors appeared from the other side of the bridge, weapons in their hands and smirks on their faces as they looked towards the Hoshidan group. Amongst them there was one person who stood out in particular; a busty blonde who held her giant axe on her shoulder with ease, though she was clad in very skimpy attire the look in her eyes made Sakura feel uneasy.

"See, didn't I tell you Benny?" The blonde woman spoke up, licking her lips as she looked at the shrine maiden. "It was worth our time coming out here to this dump."


End file.
